Abstract:

Nowadays, a true friend is hard to find. We can often observe people’s inability to build long-lasting relationships. Other common features include the lack of understanding and complete acceptance of the personality of another person, with both his/her virtues and vices. The ability to discern what another person is thinking or feeling is insufficient. Every day, we can witness close friends becoming more and more distant from each other. Friendly relations become surrounded by an aura of distrust and fear, whereas aggression is gaining popularity. Friendship is a critical link in human social development. It allows one to understand the world around and has a vital impact on inter-human relations.

We can observe the origins of friendships as early as in pre-school. Due to the fact that the children involved are quite small, it is obvious that such friendships are not long-lasting. The term friendship is associated with the following concepts: value, respect, honesty. These values encompass and regulate all dimensions of human life. They refer to the mental, physical, spiritual and social spheres. They form the criteria of attitudes and decisions regarding all spheres allowing integral development and completion of one’s real-life aspirations. They shape one’s approach to people and things. Hence, they affect people’s emotional states and reflect on their self-assessment. Children learn friendship and love, provided that they are brought up in homes and environments where one lives in accordance with the same.
The world in which we live is the world of creating communities and societies and enduring within them – not only at the level of public institutions but also in closer relations with other people. It can be said that without friends our everyday lives are less effective.

The results of research on how friendships are formed indicate that the most important factor in the majority of choices regarding friends is similarity. Friendships are often established between children of similar ages. Without a doubt, friendships are also formed between children of various ages, especially when they move beyond the obligatory pre-school grouping. Nevertheless, if the children are not limited by adults, they tend to choose friends from among their peers.

School friendships are strongly correlated with the level of adaptation to school environment. Children having friends more willingly attend schools, have better results and more often cooperate with others.

The following question may be asked then: do children become friends because of similar preferences and interests? do similar preferences and interests develop in individual children because they are friends?

The article presents research regarding the understanding of friendship in pre-school children and their views on the meaning of friendship in the life of man.

Keywords:

Friendship, pre-school child, understanding.